Beach barbecue will fire up church funds

Friends of Tring Church Heritage's honorary president Grahame Senior

The end is almost in sight for a long-term fundraising project to restore the weather-damaged walls of Tring’s iconic Church of St Peter and St Paul.

The Wall Works Challenge led by Friends of Tring Church Heritage started in September 2012 and is designed to maintain the centuries-old structure of the iconic church, thereby preserving its history and preventing a costly disaster in future.

The total cost of the project is upwards of £50,000 – with half of the money having been stumped up by the Friends, who celebrate their quarter-century next year.

Honorary president Grahame Senior said: “We are now very close to the target for the Wall Works Challenge, which we hope to have reached by July.

“People are far less able to give charitably these days than in the past, which is why we host a lot of family fun events to raise the money.

“Reaching the target this year will mean all of the wall works will be paid for without costing the actual church community a penny.”

As part of the final fundraising efforts, the team is hosting its first ever ‘Beach Barbecue’ event in the churchyard this Sunday from 12.30pm to 3.30pm.

The family-friendly barbecue invites people from all over Dacorum to don a Hawaiian shirt and take part in beach games – and while the Friends can’t promise beach volleyball, there’s every chance you’ll see the Rector in shorts.

A Caribbean cocktail masterclass will also be held at lunchtime, and there will be a prize for the best beach style on show.

Tickets, at £5 per person or £15 for a family, include a burger or hotdog.